Asteroid · 4
Vesta
The source of a meteorite family
Dawn mapped Vesta’s impact basins and layered geology. Measurements link Vesta to the howardite–eucrite–diogenite meteorites found on Earth.

Explore the shape
NASA visualization model. Shape and surface appearance are reference representations, not live observations. · NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD) ↗
Understand this world
The asteroid belt is mostly spaceUnderstand the belt’s sparse population, Jupiter’s resonances and the different histories preserved by its larger objects. · 3 minMeasurements
- Effective diameter
- 522.77 km
- Semimajor axis
- 2.361 AU
- Orbital period
- 1,325.389 Earth days
Orbit, physical values and uncertainties
- eccentricity
- .09020374382834395 ± 2.2909E-10
- semi-major axis
- 2.361365965127599 au ± 1.5328E-9
- perihelion distance
- 2.148361914524259 au ± 1.9335E-9
- inclination; angle with respect to x-y ecliptic plane
- 7.143925545058711 deg ± 2.1704E-7
- longitude of the ascending node
- 103.701293265032 deg ± 3.8827E-7
- argument of perihelion
- 151.4686478221564 deg ± 1.8814E-7
- mean anomaly
- 81.19015607686903 deg ± 1.9021E-6
- time of perihelion passage
- 2460901.587379842988 TDB ± 6.7119E-6
- sidereal orbital period
- 1325.389042911101 d ± 1.2905E-6
- mean motion
- .2716183613599909 deg/d ± 2.6447E-10
- aphelion distance
- 2.574370015730939 au ± 1.6711E-9
- absolute magnitude
- 3.25
- magnitude slope
- 0.32
- diameter
- 522.77 km ± 0.1
- extent
- 569.24 x 554.48 x 452.66 km ± 0.1 x 0.1 x 0.1
- GM
- 17.2882844 km^3/s^2 ± 0.0000030
- bulk density
- 3.460 g/cm^3 ± 0.005
- rotation period
- 5.3421276322 h ± 0.0000000004
- pole direction
- 309.06110/42.232386 ± 0.00031/0.000068
- geometric albedo
- 0.4228 ± 0.053
- B-V
- 0.782 ± 0.020
- U-B
- 0.492 ± 0.030
- Tholen spectral type
- V
- SMASSII spectral type
- V
Published JPL orbital elements describe their stated epoch; they are not current positions. Small-body diameters can be effective/model-dependent sizes, not spherical shapes. Missing measurements remain unavailable. Pluto’s diameter uses the New Horizons reference rather than an empty SBDB field. Orbital epoch: JD 2461200.5 TDB.
Object reference ↗Missions & milestones
1 launches · 0 connected events
These are target-related flights and every connected programme record in the production catalogue. A connected event may concern another stage or target of the same journey. Launch outcome does not establish arrival or current operation.
Dawn
September 27, 2007 · UTC
Complete source cohort: 9,386 records.
